The Bill Walsh Legacy Game is the name given to the San Jose State–Stanford football rivalry. It is a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

between the

San Jose State Spartans football The San Jose State Spartans football team represents San Jose State University, San José State University in NCAA Division I NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, FBS college football as a member of the Mountain West Conference. History ...

team of

San José State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

and the

Stanford Cardinal football The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. The team is known as the Stanford Cardinal, Cardinal, adopted pri ...

team of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. The two teams have played each other 67 times since 1900. The rivalry is currently on hiatus due to non-conference scheduling conflicts. Stanford leads the series 52–14–1.

Historical overview

The series between San Jose State and Stanford began in 1900 with a home-and-home series between the two schools in the same season. Stanford won both games, 35–0 on October 11, 1900, in San Jose and 24–0 on October 24, 1900, at Stanford. On November 13, 1954, San Jose State defeated Stanford for the first time by a final score of 19–14. Throughout the over-100-year history of the series, most games in this series have been played at Stanford. Only the 1900, 1995, 2001 and 2006 games have been played in San Jose. Stanford's longest winning streak in this series is 11, beginning in 1900 and ending in 1953. This win streak covered the first 11 games in the series. San Jose State's longest winning streak is three, achieved from 1981 to 1983 and again from 1998 to 2000. The games from 1979 to 1982 pitted Stanford star quarterback

John Elway John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American professional football executive and former quarterback who is the president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Elway played college f ...

against his father,

Jack Elway Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

, who served as the SJSU head football coach from 1979 to 1983. The two teams split the series 2–2, with the younger Elway defeating his father's team in 1979 and 1980, and the elder Jack Elway defeating his son's team in 1981 and 1982. In 2007, following the death of San Jose State alumnus and former Stanford coach Bill Walsh, the near-annual game played between the two schools was renamed the Bill Walsh Legacy Game. The 2013 game, a 34–13 win for Stanford, was the final scheduled game between the two schools, reportedly due to the two schools' inability to agree on a home-and-home arrangement for future games. On July 23, 2014, at the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...

football media days event, San Jose State coach

Ron Caragher Ronald Allen Caragher (born January 24, 1967) is an American athletics administrator and former college football coach who currently serves as the assistant athletics director for development at the University of San Diego. He was previously th ...

revealed that the two schools were having "initial conversations about resuming their football series by moving to a neutral site at the new Levi's Stadium." San Jose State athletic director Gene Bleymaier later stated: "Even if we have to look out to 2020 and beyond, I'd like to get a long-term agreement in place with Stanford." On June 22, 2022, Stanford and San Jose State announced an agreement to renew the series with four games: At San Jose State on September 13, 2025; at Stanford on November 28, 2026; at Stanford on November 25, 2028; and at San Jose State on September 1, 2035.

Statistics

Game results

References

{{Pacific-12 Conference football rivalry navbox 2007 establishments in California College football rivalries in the United States San Jose State Spartans football Stanford Cardinal football

Historical overview

Statistics

Game results

See also

References